Tesla's largest institutional investor just cut its stake in half

• T. Rowe Price owned 8.98 million Tesla shares by the end of last year, according to a filing at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• The new, smaller stake represents 5.2 percent of the electric auto maker's common shares outstanding at the end of December.
• Previously, T. Rowe Price was the electric car maker's second-largest shareholder behind CEO Elon Musk.

John Leyba | The Denver Post | Getty Images

Tesla fans standing in long lines to preorder the new Tesla in March, 2016.

T. Rowe Price cut its stake in Tesla in half during the fourth quarter, according to a government filing.

The international money manager owned 8.98 million Tesla shares by the end of last year, according to a filing at the Securities and Exchange Commission. The new, smaller stake represents 5.2 percent of the electric auto maker's common shares outstanding at the end of December. The Baltimore-based fund group reported in a prior filing that it owned 17.4 million shares, or a 10.2 percent stake, as of Sept. 30.

T. Rowe Price was the electric car maker's second-largest shareholder behind CEO Elon Musk at the end of the third quarter of 2018. The firm had $962 billion in assets under management as of Dec. 31.

Tesla shares rose almost 26 percent during the fourth quarter and were up 2.7 percent Monday afternoon, above $314 per share.

T. Rowe Price declined to comment for this story, while Tesla did not immediately responded to CNBC's request for comment.